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Monday, 20 January 2014

Refuses to release
them till J-K Police free its driver held for smuggling contraband

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News
Service

Srinagar, January
19

Pakistan continued
to hold 27 Indian truck drivers in detention at a trading facility on its side
of the Line of Control (LoC) near north Kashmir’s Uri town for the third day.
This comes amidst announcement by the two countries to start 24x7 trade activity
at the Attari-Wagah border yesterday.

A senior official
here said Pakistan was seeking the release of its truck driver arrested by the
Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday for smuggling contraband into the state.

The Indian drivers
along with their trucks are being held at the Chakoti trading facility on the
Pakistani side of the LoC, said senior government official Ghulam Ahmad Khwaja,
who is the administrative in charge of north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

“They (Pakistani officials)
are seeking the return of their arrested driver,” the official said. “They have
informed their government and we have informed ours.”

The standoff began on Friday
evening when contraband, believed to be 114-kg brown sugar worth about Rs 114
crore, was seized from a Pakistani truck at the Salamabad trading facility near
Uri town.

The truck was part of a
cross-LoC trade convoy entering Kashmir.

The standoff threatens to
derail the confidence building measures initiated between the two countries in
2008 when it was decided to start several trading points along the LoC.

The official said 27 drivers
are being held at Chakoti while 48 Pakistani drivers, whom Pakistan is refusing
to accept without the arrested driver, are stuck at the Salamabad trading
facility.

“They (Pakistani authorities)
are adamant on the return of all 49 drivers,” said Khwaja, who was part of a
state government delegation that met Pakistani officials on the zero-line at
the LoC in a failed attempt to resolve the crisis. Khwaja said the Pakistani
officials were also asking for the return of the seized contraband.

“They say the trial will be
held there (in Pakistan),” he said. Cross-LoC Traders Union general secretary
Hilal Turki said he was part of the delegation that met the Pakistani
officials. “The Pakistani officials are adamant on the release of the arrested
driver,” he said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140120/nation.htm#8

DRDO machine detects lies from facial
expression

Vijay Mohan

Tribune News
Service

Chandigarh,
January 19

Interrogators will
now be able to scientifically establish the veracity of statements made by a
person through his facial expressions.

The Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a new system that is
able to detect the emotion of a person who is being interrogated or
interviewed.

Referred to as the
Automatic Deceit Detection and Interrogation System from Face Expression, the
system uses a hidden camera to continuously record the subject’s face
expression during the interview/interrogation. A computer with special software
carries out a near real time mathematical analysis of the face expressions and
is able to automatically determine the psychological state of the person,
whether he is happy, sad, disgusted or afraid.

A senior DRDO
scientist said there are seven universal expressions of emotion that include
happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, contempt and disgust, each of which
produce unique eyeball and facial muscular movements, which are recorded and
analyzed to arrive at a conclusion.

DRDO scientists
said that recent advances in facial image processing technology have
facilitated the introduction of advanced applications that extend beyond mere
facial recognition techniques and can be used to study expressions and analyze
facial and hand movements.

The system is
portable and being covert and non-intrusive, provides investigators and
interviewers with a handy, reliable and user friendly tool that indicates
possible deception by a subject. Since the subject may never get to know that
his expressions are being analysed, it gives interrogators a tactical
advantage.

Japan is clearly
the flavour of the season as far as India is concerned. Japanese defence
minister Itsunori Onodera was in New Delhi last week for consultations with his
counterpart on how to strengthen and coordinate relations between the two sides
in the security arena. In one of their rare visits, the Japanese Emperor and
Empress were in Delhi in December. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be
the guest of honour at this year’s Republic Day function on January 26, 2014.

With both India
and Japan acknowledging the need to strengthen bilateral defence and security
ties, a major chunk of the attention is likely to be on maritime security and
anti-piracy efforts. While these are by no means unimportant facets of
bilateral cooperation, more significant will be the role of India and Japan in
shaping the Asian strategic order. Both the countries have a common and shared
perspective on the Asian framework, even as it is an emerging one.

Having said that,
Defence Minister Onodera’s visit focused on some of the tactical and policy
issues for enhancing the level and pace of India-Japan bilateral cooperation.
Cooperation between the two navies has been an on-going affair, but what has
been low on the radar until now have been the links between the air forces of
the two sides. This was given some emphasis during the recent visit with the
two sides agreeing to encourage more staff exchanges and coordinate the
possibility of staff talks between the Indian Air Force and the Japan Air Self
Defence Forces as well as exchanges of test-pilots, professional exchanges in
the field of flight safety and between two transport squadrons of the two air
forces. Also agreed upon was promotion of exchanges on UN Peace Keeping
operations between various Japanese agencies (such as the Japan Peacekeeping
Training and Research Centre, Joint Staff College (JPC), Central Readiness
Force of Japan Ground Self Defence Forces and the Indian Army’s Centre for UN
Peacekeeping (CUNPK), and expert-level engagements on humanitarian assistance,
disaster relief and counter-terrorism between Indian Army and Japan Ground Self
Defence Force. On the naval front, there were agreements on joint exercises
between the Indian Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defence Forces on a regular
basis (with the Indian Navy to visit Japan this year). Some of the other
aspects that were decided during Onodera’s visit included visit to Japan by
India’s defence minister later this year and a decision to undertake high-level
visits on an annual basis, conducting of the third 2+2 dialogue and the fourth
Defence Policy Dialogue (Defence Secretary level).

While a rising
China factor is undoubtedly an important consideration for both India and Japan
as they strengthen their cooperation, the two have been careful not to invite Chinese
wrath and thus have not made a mention of China in any of their statements.
However, as mentioned above, there are any number of areas including freedom of
navigation, anti-piracy, uninterrupted commerce, safe energy corridors and an
inclusive Asian strategic framework that are becoming important to both India
and Japan.

One of the key
areas of potential cooperation is an arms trade relationship between the two
sides. Japan’s lifting of a historic ban on export of arms under the policy
guidelines issued in December 2011 has provided abundant opportunities for
India and Japan to strengthen defence cooperation. Prime Minister Yoshihiko
Noda’s decision is something that came about with a lot of prodding from
Japanese industry, which have been keen on getting its share of the growing
defence market pie. Given that Japan is a sophisticated naval power in the
region with advanced technologies and weapon systems, the reversal of the ban
will make it free to enter into agreements for joint production and co-development
of systems with their select partners. Obviously, the decision has had its
share of domestic criticism in Japan, with many viewing it as Tokyo potentially
moving away from its post second world war pacifist posture.

As for India, even
prior to the decision by Prime Minister Noda on lifting the ban, there was a
Japanese proposal to sell New Delhi a multi-role amphibious aircraft, the US2,
suitable for SAR (Search and Rescue) operations. The aircraft is significant for
both the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard to undertake humanitarian assistance
and disaster relief operations in addition to more important search and rescue
missions. A Joint Working Group (JWG) was put in place in May last year to work
out the modalities of cooperation and the possible induction by the Indian
Navy. The JWG is also studying the possibility of joint production, operation
and training on the US-2i aircraft. Despite the Japanese inclination and the
Indian interest, the deal has not been signed yet. Discussions on this were
expected to be stepped up, with hopes that a deal would be announced during
Prime Minister Abe’s visit, but this now seems unlikely. Sources now suggest
that the second meeting of the JWG will take place in Japan this year and no
decision is likely beforehand.

Meanwhile, there
are other systems and platforms on the offer list, including electronic warfare
equipment and patrol vessels among others. Given India’s general aversion to
buying defence items off the shelf, Japan has gone the extra mile offering
India the option of establishing joint ventures with Indian partners, both in
the public and private sector. However, the Indian reaction so far has been
subdued.

India has to get
much more long-term and strategic in its defence diplomacy. While Tokyo made
its intentions clear and official, New Delhi’s reaction has been less than
forthcoming. On the US-2, India responded to Japan’s offer to supply the
aircraft by asking the Japanese company to follow the usual route of tenders.
Accordingly, in response to the Indian Navy’s Request for Information (RFI),
there are three companies in the fray – Japan’s ShinMaywa, Canada’s Bombardier
and Russia’s Beriev. While open tendering and transparent processes are to be
encouraged, this is not how strategic ties are built. Japan’s offer of the US-2
was a strategic message that India missed, just as it did earlier with the
MMRCA decision.

Even as the
alliance relationship with the US is key to Japan, Tokyo has understood and
acknowledged the need to strengthen relations with India and other like-minded
democracies. The idea of an ‘arc of democracies’ has been a pet theme of Prime
Minister Abe. The quadrilateral initiative among India, Japan, Australia and
the US was also an initiative to forge closer security ties among these
countries. A diamond initiative was talked about by Abe during his campaign
days last year.

What do all these
mean for India-Japan relations and the larger Asian strategic framework?
Japan’s interest in defence trade with India is not entirely driven by
commercial angles. While commercial factors are an incentive, a closer
strategic partnership with Asian neighbours has become an important priority
for Japan. In addition to the general concerns over the rise of China, Tokyo
also has unresolved border and territorial issues with China. In the current
context, the simultaneous rise of three powers – India, Japan and China – is a
perfect design for conflict and rivalry. It does not help that China has had
prior disputes with both Japan and India.

Both Tokyo and New
Delhi want to create a stabler Asian order by redefining partnerships in the
region. Can India and Japan take the lead in this regard and form a concert of
nations that would bring about balance of power in the Asia-Pacific? The role
of small and medium powers such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, and South
Korea is significant. India and Japan have to be able to offer stable options
to an aggressive China.

Engaged in a territorial dispute with China,
Japan on Thursday sought to rope in India’s support over “the recent Chinese
provocative actions” saying a message needs to be sent to it collectively that
status quo cannot be changed by force.

Japanese Defence
Minister Itsunori Onodera said dialogue is the only way to resolve the row
created by imposition of restrictions by China in the East China Sea and other
areas.

“For both India and Japan,
China is an important neighbouring country. Both countries have important
economic linkages with China. However, after the recent Chinese provocative
actions, entire international community will have to send a message to China,”
he told PTI in an interview in New Delhi.

“Both Japan and India should
ask for a dialogue with Chinese side and tell China not to change status quo by
force. These issues should be solved through dialogue and following
international rules,” the Minister said.

He was responding when asked
whether India and Japan could come together on issues with China as both the
countries have territorial disputes with it.

The security situation in the
region against the backdrop of recent tensions between Japan and China
triggered by imposition of ‘Air Defence Identification Zone’ (ADIZ) over East
China Sea and other areas by China came up during talks between Mr. Onodera and
his Indian counterpart A.K. Antony on Monday.

During the meeting, Mr. Antony
is understood to have told Onodera that India stands for freedom of navigation
in international waters and application of global conventions.

After the ADIZ started
creating tensions in the South East Asian region, India had stated that the
issue should be resolved between the concerned parties through dialogue in a
peaceful way and it was against use of force to resolve the matters.

Asked about an earlier
proposal by Tokyo for forming a trilateral grouping of India, Japan and the
U.S. to deal with challenges from China, Mr. Onodera said, “India and Japan
have good ties with the U.S. Economically and internationally and in terms of
military forces, these are big countries.”

He said that, “If India, Japan
and the U.S. are in cooperation and send a common message to the Chinese side
that will mean a lot.”

The Japanese Defence Minister
said his country shares strong ties with both India and the U.S.

“We share the same interests
in safety of sea lanes of communications and to secure the freedom of
navigation. Trilaterally, India, Japan and the U.S. should be cooperating in
these areas,” he said.

On his talks with Mr. Antony,
Mr. Onodera said the two countries have decided to enhance their military ties
and a number of decisions were taken during the meeting.

The two sides have agreed on
cooperation in Peacekeeping Operations between their respective agencies along
with cooperation between the Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces and the Indian
Army, he said.

The two countries have also
decided to conduct staff exchanges and discuss possibility of conducting staff
talks between Japan Air Self-Defence Force and Indian Air Force and
professional exchanges of test-pilots, professional exchanges in the field of
flight safety and between their transport squadrons.

Official AgustaWestland statement:
[AgustaWestland], a Finmeccanica company, confirms to have received yesterday
from India’s Ministry of Defence a notification concerning the appointment of
an arbitrator from its side, as requested by AgustaWestland on November 25 and
December 4, 2013, as well as a termination notice of the agreement for the
supply of 12 VVIP/VIP helicopters, consistent with yesterday’s press
announcement by the Indian Ministry of Defence.

AgustaWestland
still finds that neither the termination notice by the Ministry of Defence nor
the show cause notice, from which this termination notice stems, offers adequate
basis to take any action against the Company. It is the Ministry of Defence's
admitted position (PIB release of MoD statement February 14, 2013) that the
tender process has been duly followed. Accordingly, the termination notice
received yesterday will have to be discussed within the framework of a fair
arbitration process. To this end, AgustaWestland will soon propose the names of
the persons for the purpose of selecting the third arbitrator by agreement of
the parties, as requested by the Indian Ministry of Defence.

AgustaWestland
remains committed to working with the Government of India to resolve the
issues, to allow the Indian armed forces to receive the equipment they need and
is ready to perform the remaining obligations under the agreement for the
supply of the 12 VVIP/VIP helicopters. AgustaWestland will continue to support
the three helicopters already delivered to and currently operated by the Indian
Air Force.

Finmeccanica has
already introduced stringent ethical procedures common to all Group companies
that have harmonized their systems of rules based on the standards set by the
parent company. These processes are reviewed regularly and have been further
strengthened in correspondence with the most stringent international ethical
standards. Also AgustaWestland applies the same strict procedures to prevent
corruption in accordance with the updated Finmeccanica policies. In any case,
AgustaWestland is ready to take the necessary actions, on top of the above
mentioned arbitration measures, included in a mitigation plan already prepared.
This plan includes a reduction to the workforce to readdress the company
business model and the reallocation of existing working capital that will be
reflected also on the supply chain. The completion of this plan, the positive
company performance and the recent order intake will ensure a solid platform
for revenues and cash flow [streams].

Live video feeds from the helmet sights of
three Tejas fighters enthralled an audience of officials and journalists today
at Bangalore's HAL Airport ahead of the 'IOC-2' ceremony that cleared the LCA
Tejas for entry into Indian Air Force service. Nice touch. And unlike the IOC-1
event two years ago, the IAF wasn't in a bad mood. On the contrary, there
appeared to be genuine satisfaction. Rare stuff.

The Indian Air
Force will begin receiving series production (SP) airframes from HAL over the
next few months to service an order of 40 jets. The Tejas Mk.1 type now looks
to achieve final operational clearance (FOC) -- a milestone that signals the
platform is fully ready for all intended operational profiles and performance
qualities -- by December 2014. Twelve short months to get a LOT of work done.
But there's splendid momentum, high morale, a smiling IAF and a supposedly
no-more-nonsense MoD to drive the team over the finish line in time. Well,
here's the 12 month to-do list: